ANAHEIM – David Wells had exactly what he wanted yesterday: a chance to save the season for the team whose memorabilia he treasures.

Now he has the memory of running out of steam in Game 4 of the ALDS and getting tattooed by the Angels worse than his torso has been tattooed by body artists. Wells, who on Friday said he was programmed his entire life for games like this, didn’t make it out of the fifth inning in the Yankees’ season-ending 9-5 loss to the Angels yesterday.

Wells was tagged for eight runs on 10 hits and didn’t record a strikeout. While most of the 10 hits were hit hard, it was a bloop single in the early stages of an eight-run fifth that did in Wells.

“Boomer looked like he was on his way today and all of a sudden something happened in that fifth inning where it got really ugly,” said Joe Torre.

Did it ever. Wells was pitching well until the fifth. He had given up a run in the third when Alfonso Soriano let a potential double-play ball go through his legs and was protecting a 2-1 lead until Shawn Wooten led off the fifth with a home run.

Wells got Benjie Molina to fly to right before walking Benji Gil. David Eckstein singled to right on a hit and run, setting up that at-bat that did in Wells. He got Darin Erstad to hit a towering shallow fly to short center. Bernie Williams came charging in. Alfonso Soriano furiously backpedaled. At the last second, Williams pulled up and Soriano failed to make the catch.

“I was running to back up third,” said Wells. “When the ball fell in I was like, ‘What the heck’s going on here?’ I knew the ball was hit high enough.”

Then the floodgates opened. Tim Salmon ripped a single to left, Garret Anderson drilled a single to right, Scott Spiezio lined a single to left. By the time Wooten stepped in for his second at-bat of the inning, Wells was in the dugout and Ramiro Mendoza was on the mound.

Like the Yankees first three starters – Roger Clemens, Andy Pettitte and Mike Mussina – in this series, Wells didn’t get the job done. Clemens lasted 52/3 innings. Pettitte was yanked after three. Mussina left with a groin pull after four.

Wells lasted 42/3 while suffering his first postseason loss (he has eight wins) since 1995, when he was with Cincinnati.

“Any mistake that we made, they capitalized on,” said Wells. “I don’t care if it was the first inning or the ninth inning – they did it. Every pitch it seemed like they were on. They were just in the zone and that’s what happens when you’re in the zone. You can beat anybody.”

Torre, who said the bullpen would be a crowded place yesterday, stuck with Wells in the fifth, even though he was getting smacked around. He said on Friday that Wells likes to be challenged but many felt Torre gave him too many challenges yesterday.

“He pitches so well in tough situations,” Torre said, “but the bottom dropped out for us in that inning.”